Motivation is a wonderful thing. It is the drive can get us moving and get us started working toward the goals we have for ourselves.

The problem with motivation is that it can only take you so far. It is often fleeting and goes in bursts. It is very easy to get excited about something at first and pour a lot of energy into it. But, as time goes on motivation often fades.

I think that a lot of us who are looking to do something unconventional and out of the ordinary can easily get caught in the ebb and flow of motivation. We read lots of blogs and stories about people doing the things we want to do or living the way we want to live. We make plans and decide we are going to do what it takes to follow in their footsteps.

We write out our goals, vow to take steps to quit our jobs, get rid of things we don’t need, save money to travel, come up with ideas for businesses or way to make money, get out more, etc. We start to follow those plans, but then as the days and weeks go by the motivation starts to fade.

Maybe you miss achieving a small goal, or you buy something pricey when you were trying to save money, or give up on your business ideas because it all seems too daunting. Then you end up bummed out and probably more unmotivated then you were to start with.

Motivation Can’t Push You All the Way Through

Motivation is typically a very emotional thing– and you just can’t always rely on emotion. It is too unstable. You’re not always going to feel happy; you’re not always going to be energized. You just can’t consistently sustain that.

While you are not always going to have your initial motivation and drive, there fortunately are some things that you can do to help.

Just Do It

Yeah, yeah, the Nike thing. I know it is cliche, but there is truth to it. Many times you are going to have to suck it up and just do it. The thing you will find is that once you get started then you should be able to keep going. If your goal is to exercise everyday then there will be days were the last thing you want to do is get on your feet and get moving. Maybe you had a bad day, you are tired, or you want to watch something on T.V. It takes some fight, but if you get up and just start your exercise routine, you’ll get over it fast. Getting started isn’t half the battle, it is more like 90%.

Reacquaint Yourself with your End-Goals

Motivation comes and goes, but that doesn’t mean it is necessarily random and haphazard. You can certainly coax the motivation back by reacquainting yourself with your end-goals.

Take time to remind yourself about why you have these goals in the first place. Think about what your life will be like once you achieve them. Go back and re-read the websites and blogs that motivated you in the first place. Read about people doing the same things that you want to do. It is easy to lose sight of why you set out on these goals in the first place. Reminding yourself why will keep your eyes on the prize.

Don’t Get Lost in the Details

Most importantly, don’t get lost in the details. Yes, it will ultimately take many steps to achieve your goals and live the life you want. But getting caught up in the steps is a quick way to lose motivation.

Take each step one at a time and don’t get overwhelmed. Have the confidence that you will be able to handle each step when the time comes. Whenever you feel the goals becoming too daunting, remember to reconnect with your end-goal. Remind yourself why you are doing what you are doing. Become of a fan of the phrase “we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it”. Usually things aren’t as difficult or scary when the time comes and you actually do them as when you obsessed about them in your head before-hand.

Achieving your goals is all about riding the waves of motivation. You can’t always rely on it being there and ultimately have to dig deep within yourself to push through and keep moving.

We are married couple in our early 30’s who have realized that we are stuck in our comfort zones and just going through the motions of life.
We’ve come to the realization that there is more to life and all it takes is for us to actually get out there an experience it.
We’ve decided to throw caution to the wind to try and escape our ordinary lives. Click Here to Read More.